Block system.



No.l 850.733. r I PATENTED Ame. 16, 1907. F. B. COREY. f BLOCK SYSTEM.

APPLIUATION FILED 00T.20,1905.

\ 2 SHEETS-SHEET 1.

. l 467% I Fred B. Cory.

No. 850,733. PATENTED APR. 16, 1907.

F. B. COREY. BLOCK SYSTEM.

APPLICATION FILED 0OT.20.1905` 2 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

any.

fomenten srrnfrns armar onmon FRED'B. COREE', OF SUHENECIADY, NEW YORK, ASSIGNOR TO GENERAL ELECTRIC COdli'tNY, A CORPQR'ATION OF NEW YORK.

ELOGK 2? Specification. of Letters Patent.

YSTEM..

Application lilell October 2t), ll-BO. Serial NoV 283,616.

.''o MH who/11, t rift/ty concern:

Bo it known that l, Flinn B. Oon'nY, a citiaen ol the United States, residing at Sehen ectady, in the county of Schenectady and State of New York, have invented certain new and useful improvements in Block Systems, of which the following is a specifica tion.

My invention relates to block systems for railways, and especially to a system which is used on many single-track roads in England and elsewhere and which is known as 'the "stati system. fin that system the conductor of `a train, upon arriving at a block, receives from .an attendant in charge ot the block a stall", indicating that the block is clear.' The train accordingly proceeds through thelblock, and upon reaching the other end the conductor hands the stati to the attendant stationed at that end ol the block. The block is thus cleared, and the stati may be handed by the attendant to the conductor of a train bound in the oppositedirection.. This system has the advantage oi2 great safety, since the chance of two trains bound in opposite directions being admitted into the same block is reduced to a minimum. The system is open to the objection that it requires an attendant for every block and, furthermore, that when the number oll trains in one direction is at any time in excess of' the block, while giving each train warning that there' is a train ahead of it and while ab solutely preventing the entrance into the block of any train bound in the opposite direction.

'My invention will best be understood by reference to the accompanying drawings7 in which- I Figure 1 shows diagrammatically an auto matic statt` system arranged in accordance with my invention. Fig. 2 shows an elevatrolling-magnets therefor adapted to my invention, and Fig. 3 shows a plan view 1n cross-section of the same.

Referring iirst to Fig. l, A and A repre-y sent two stations at opposite ends of the block of a singletrack railway. The mech- *tion in cross-section of Aa staff-box and conanism at each station comprises a disk B, having ratchet-teeth on each slde, which Each of the pawls C operated by a magnet-winding or solenoid G, which when ener` gized draws the pawl down against the pull of the'tension--spring g and rotates disk B one notch. Bawjs C are also arranged to be acted upon by the solenoids H, which when energized withdraw the awls from engagement with the ratchet-toet h is a contact in engagement with contacts e. l represents a battery or other source of current for the system. L and S represent two coils, which I designate as locking and safety coils, respectively, and which control the withdrawal of stav'es from the staff-box, which is not shown in this figure and which will be eX- plained later. l` or the present it is sufficient to. understand that as long as either locking coil L or safety-coil S remains energized no staff can be drawn from the box, but that to l permit withdrawal it is necessary that both coils be denergized and then one or both again energized. l 4

J represents a pair ot contacts which are arranged to be bridged by a contact carried operation ot the system is as tol-lows: As!

sume -th at the block is clear and that a train arrives at station With the block clear the,two disks B and. B at the two stations will he in the positions hown ,in the figures,

roo

o v dis B',hoWever, contactF'has been brought l andv all the circuits will be as shown. It will be seen that the circuitsl of locking-magnets L and'L are open at the contacts F and F', but that the circuits of the safetyrnagnets are 'closed as follows: from batter I,

throu h safety-magnet S, to contactA to one o the contacts e, to the outer ring D, to brush d,.to line 2, to brush d', to outer ring;

' D', to one set of'contacts e', to contact h-,

through magnet-coilv S', to batte I', to ground, and t ack to battery I. As

as been alreadysaid, no staff can be withdrawn whilev -A either thelocking or the` safety magnets re main energized, As has been seen, the safety-magnets S and S' are energized, and

' consequently with the circuits'in this condi- :hereafter -eX lained, and a circuit will be tion no staves can be withdrawn. If, however, the conductor, of'a train at station A endeavors to'withdraw a staff, thecontact car-I ried thereby will l. ridge contacts J, as will be closed as fo lows: from battery I, throu h contacts J throuvh' right-hand solenoid throughv left-hand solenoid H, to line l,

through right-hand solenoid H', through left handsolenoid G', to battery I', to ound.

consequently be drawn down by their solenoids, rotating disk B one notch inaclookwise direction and disk B' one notch in a countereclockwise direction. Meanwhile left-hand pawl'C and'right-hand pawl C' will have been retracted by their solenoids H and H', allowingthe disks to turn freely. At the same time the circuit of the safety-magnets S and S' is momentarily broken at the points of contact between'contact h and a contact e magnetsS and S' 'has again been closed, but.

this time throughthe inner rings D D', line Wire 3, and the Vother set of contacts e e'.

This, as has been already stated, is the'sec` ond step necessary for the withdrawal of a stati", and consequently the staii` at station A ma nowbe withdrawn. By the rotation of into engagement with contacts j" and the circuit of liocking=magnet L' has been closed. No staves can -be withdrawn, therefore, at station A', and the block is closed to all trains coming from that direction.

After the stati' has lzecn withdrawn at station A, thereb tacts J, all of t e pawls are released by their solenoids and are returned to the positionsV4 shownl in the drawings, leaving fthe disks, however, rotated one notch,` has been dcscrihed. 'Accordingly if a second train reaches station A bound in the same direcopcning the circuit at (on.

proceed into the block. The displacement of disk B, however, from its normal position will indicate to him that there is a* train ahead of him in the block, and consequently he canproceed with the train' under control'. The Withdrawal of a second s'ta" at station A can Withdraw another stati from the box and rotates both disks another notch, but still leaves it possi le for another train followingv in the same irection to enter theblock'. The staff-box at station A, however, still re- --m'ains closed against all trains bound in the opposite direction, since contact F' still remains in engagement with disk f thus maintaining the circuit of locking-magnet L' closed. Now assume that the first train has reached the end of the block. Although the f stafT-box at station A' is locked, so as to prevent the Withdrawal of a stati', it is so arranged that a stati` may be inserted, as will be explained hereafter, As the conductor of therst train inserts the staff in the box .at A' the contact carried thereby will bridge the contacts J', thereby completing a circuit, as follows: from battery I', through contacts J', through right-hand solenoid G', through -have been returned to station A' that were Withdrawn J'from station A, the disks will have been returned to their original position and the block will again be clear. 'It will be seen that with this arrangement any desired numper of trains bound in the same direction may he admitted to any block with warning to each train that another is ahead ofit, and at the same time the block Will he maintained closed against all trains bound in the opposite direction. y

A staff-box adapted to the system that has been described is shown in Figs. 2 and 3. M represents the casing of thestatl-box, and K represents the staves therein. The staves are shaped as shown and are made of any insulating material, such as wood, and'carry the contact-strip 7c, arranged to bridge the contacts J, supported from the box-casing, when the staff is withdrawn. The stall' K is arranged with two holes u and o, which are adapted to ybe engaged by the dog T and by the rod P, respectively. Rod P is carried at one end of the bar O, pivoted at 0, which carries at its other end a yoke-supporting rod N. Rod N carries at its upper'end the dog tion as the first the conductor of that train T and at its lower end movable core s. lis a Vleft-hand solenoid H' to line 4, through right- ICO IOs

' tively.

stationary core surrounding rodN. L and S are the locking and safety magnets', respecllt will be seen that if either coil L or S is energized and it is attempted to with* draw a stati, dog T, which engages the hole u, will` be drawn forward to the position shown in dotted lines and,v will prevent further with.- drawal of the stati. At this point, however, contact-strip k bridges contabts J. In the operation ofthe system ,f as has already been explained, this bridging of contacts J results Ain opening the circuit of coil S, core s falls,

rotating bar O on its pivot, lowering dog T out of engagement with the hole u, and raisin'grod Pinto engagement with the hole o. Although the/stati is thus released by dog T, it isnevertheless still locked by the rod P.

` When, however, the circuit of coil S is again ,closed by the rotation one notch of the disks,

ashas been already described, core s is again drawnup, rod P is depressed, releasing stati` gli, and `dog T, although it is again raised,

Stati K may thus be withdrawn. "eration is `repeated every time that a stati is does, ,not` enter the hole u, since the spiral s yring .t throws dog T over to the position s own in full lines and causes it to engage the under, side of staff K back of the hole u.

,withdrawn at the station. Tt will be-seen that if loclring-magnet L is energized. core S will be drawn up, and as long as it is held in its raised position no stati can be withdrawn l from the box.

Furthermore, it will be seen that owing to the shape of dog T a stail can be` inserted into the box at any time while either coil L or S is energized by simply rais .i ing the outer end of the bottom staff in the box and sliding the stan which is to be in* serted underneath it. This brings the stati last-'inserted at the bottom of the pile, so that tgwill be the first to be Withdrawn.

Referring again to Fig.- 1', it willy be seen that two' sets of contacts e are provided for eachv wheel or disk. These sets are formed by connecting alternate contacts -tcgether and insulating each set from the other. 1 The purpose ci this is to provide an automatic cl1e`cl upon the' operation of the machines and. to close the block against all trains in case one or both of lthe machines becomes disabled, so as to/prevent its proper operation.

f when an attempt is made to withdraw the no staff can be withdrawn.

` first stati neither machine'rotates, the cir cuit of the safety-magnet is not broken, and thestaii cannot bewithdrawn. If, on the otherihand, one disk rotates while the `other remains stationary, the circuit of the safety coil. S is not again closed, and in this case also of trains entering the block in opposite irections because of injury to the stati' .mechans This opf Thus all cl ance.

their original positions.

a stall may be varied in any way without dei parting fromlny invention. Accordingly, I desire it to be understood that when the word stai is used in the appended claims l. do not intend to limit its meaning to the 'particular .form yof staff shown in the drawings, but to designate thereby any article ci any form or shape wl'iatsoever which is adapted to serve as a token in my system and by its withdrawal to aetuate a locking mechanism. Accordingly, it will be understood that l do not desire to limit myself to thi. particular construction and arrangement of parts here shown, since changes therein which do not depart 'from the spirit of my invention will be obvious to those skilled in the art.

What I claimv as new, and desire to secilne by Letters Patent of the United States, is--- l. In a block system, two staff-boxes, a plurality of staves in each box, said boxes belng arranged normally to permit the withdrawal of one staff at a time from either box, and means operative upon the withdraw al oi astaf from one box to lock the second box against withdrawal ci staves. i

2. In a block system, twostaii-boxes, a plurality of staves in each box, said boxes being arranged normally to permit the withdrawal of one staff at a time from either boX, meansoperative upon the withdrawal ofa staff from one box to lock the second box against withdrawal of staves, and means for unlocking said second boX operative upon the insertion of said stati therein.

' 3. In a Ablock system, two staff-boxes, a plurality of staves in each box, said boxes being arranged normally to permit the withdrawal of one staff at a time from either boX, a step-by-step mechanism operative u on thewithdrawal of each stati from one ox and arranged when'displaced to lock the second box against withdrawal, of staves, and

means for moving said mechanism one step 1 in the reverse direction upon the insertion of each stati? in the second box.

4. In a block system, two 'receptacles, staves in each receptacle, a mechanism for eachl receptacle arranged when displaced in a given .direction to lock sai d receptacle against withdrawal ofstaves, means opera'tiveupon the withdrawal of a staill from either receptacle for displacing both mechanisms but in opposite directions, and means o erative upo'n the insertion of said stati in t 'le other receptacle -for returning both mechanisms to In a block' system, two receptacles, stavcs in each receptacle,y a stcp-by-step IOO mechanism arrangedwhen: displaced oneor more stepsl 1n a given direction to lock said receptacle against withdrawal ot" staves,

' staves in each rece tacle, two s nchronousl i P Y l but relative 'oppositely moving mechanisms each arranged when displaced in a given direction to lock one of said receptacles against the withdrawal of staves, means for moving said mechanisms upon the 'withdrawal of each staizfrom one vreceptacle,*and means for returning saidmechanism by an equal` amount toward their original positions upon the insertion of each' staff in thes'econd receptacle.

7. In a block system, two receptacles, staves in each receptacle, two ratchet-wheels each arranged when moved in a given direction to lock one of said rece tacles, awls adapted to move said ratc iet-whee s in either direction,`means operating said awls to move said ratchet-Wheels in relative y opposite directions, upon the withdrawal of a stafffrom either receptacle, and means for o erating said pawls to move said ratchetf W eels in the reverse directions upon the insertion of a stan inthe other receptacle.

8. In a block system, two "receptacles, staves in, each receptacle, two ratchet-wheels each arranged when moved in agiven direction to loczlc one of said receptacles, pawls adapted to move said ratchet in either direction, means for o erating said pa'wls to move said ratchetew eels one step in relatively opposite directions upon the withdrawal of each stai'l` from one of said receptacles, and means for. operating said pawls to return said wheels one step in the reverse direction upon the insertion of each of said staves in the second receptacle.

l9. In a block system; two receptacles,

l. 'staves therein, a mechanism foreach receptacle controlling the withdrawalof staves therefrom and arranged normally to vpermit the withdrawal of one stal" at a` time, means operative upon the Withdrawal of one or more staves from one of said receptacles-for 'locking the mechanism controlling the seclond receptacle to prevent withdrawal of staves therefrom, and means for unlockingr said mechamsm only upon the insertion in the second receptacle of staves equal in number to those withdrawn from the iirst recep.

tacle.

10. In a block system, two receptacles, staves in each receptacle, an electricallycontrolled locking mechanism for each receptacle, a circuit arranged to be closed upon clel and when closed to energize.- thelocliircz mech anilsm of the other receptacle, and a circuit arranged to be closed by the insertion ol' a staii' in the other receptacle and when closed to energize the' locklngmechanism of thalt other receptacle to unlock 'said receptac e.

11. In a block system, v.two receptacles, staves in each receptacle, an electricallycontrolled locking mechanism for each recepitacle arranged normallyr to permit the wit drawal of one staff at a time, and circuits for said mechanisms energized upon the with- ,drawa'l and insertion of staves in said rece ptacles whereb7 one ofsaid mechanisms is 4energizedto ook its receptacle u n the withdrawal of one or more staves fiigm-the other receptacle and to unlockits receptacle upon the subse uent insertion in its-recep'f tacle of ane ua number of staves.

12.- In ab ock system, two receptacles staves in each receptacle, a mechamsm for given direction to lock said receptacle against withdrawal ofstaves,.means operative upon the withdrawal of a staff from either receptaopposite irections, and lmeans operative upon the failure of either mechanism to move for preventing the complete Withdrawal of saidstai. y

13. In a block system,4 two receptacles, staves in each receptacle, a lookin mechanism operative upon the Withdrawa of a staff from one receptacle to lock the other receptacle, and means operative u on the failure of said mechanism to operate or preventing the complete Withdrawal of said staff.

14. In a block system, two receptacles, staves in each receptacle, a locking mechanism for each receptacle, two coils controlling each locking mechanism, and means operafrom one receptacle to vary the circuits of said coils to permit the complete Withdrawal of said staff and to lock the otherrecept'acle against Withdrawal of staves.

15. In a block system, two receptacles, staves in each receptacle, a locking mechan ism for each rece tacle, two coils controlling each locking mec anism, one coil being normally open-circuited and theother normally closed-clrcuited and said coils being arranged to permit the complete withdrawal of a staff upon the o ening of the circuit of both coils, and then c osing the circuit of one coil, and means operative upon the partial Withdrawal of a staii' fromone receptacle to open and then close again the circuit of the normally closed-circuited coil of that rece tacle and to close the circuit of the norma ly'open-circuited coil of the otherreceptacle.

16. In a block system, two staff-boxes, a locking mechanism for nach hex, two coils the withdrawal of a staff from eitherreceptaeach receptacle arranged when displaced in a cle for dis lacing bothfmechanisms but in' tive upon the partial withdrawal of the staff I Ol..-

IIO

con'trolling @floh ooknfg umohanism, ay Shop b y-stop mechanism opmulivo upon the partm] wltlxdrawn] of :1 Stn'l' from one box and arranged to 'vary the @1r/mts ofA son! solls to j permit the oon'mloto w1' thflrawal of the Staff {Tom that box and to look the othorbox agamst wlthdrmval of stavos, and moans for movmg Saud mechanism one stop 1n the rever@ diection upon the insertion of a sta in the, second box.

In witnos's whereof I have hereunto set my hand this 13th day of October, 1905.

FRED B. COREY. Witnesses:

BENJAMIN B. HULL, HELEN ORFORD, 

